Posted
by Karrey Britt
June 21, 2010 at 2:45 p.m.
20 Kansans welcome summer with yoga, Tai Chi on preserved land near Clinton Lake
About 20 nature enthusiasts welcomed summer this morning in a unique way.
They gathered about 11 miles west of Lawrence on a secluded patch of land overlooking prairie grass that was full of Kansas wildflowers and trees.
It was peaceful. Birds were chirping, bees were buzzing, and thunder could be heard in the distance.
The participants were mostly from the Lawrence community, but some came from as far as Manhattan and Olathe to participate in a 90-minute yoga session and hourlong Tai Chi session.
“Ahhhhh,” the participants said in unison toward the end of the yoga session as they sat with their eyes closed.
The event was hosted by the Kansas Land Trust, a nonprofit organization that has been dedicated to protecting and preserving land for 20 years. It is protecting 41 properties, totaling 11,500 acres.
Instructor Alice Steuerwald, center, leads participants in a yoga class on preserved land near Clinton Lake. The Kansas Land Trust held the class to celebrate the beginning of summer and to recognize the late Dr. Joseph Hollowell Jr., who donated the land that the class was held on. by Mike Yoder
In a mowed clearing, just north of Clinton Lake, Kansans engage in a Monday morning summer solstice yoga class hosted by the Kansas Land Trust. The 49-acre property at 435 North 1500 Road was recently donated to the KLT by Dr. Joseph Hollowell Jr., who died June 12. by Mike Yoder
That includes the 49 acres that today’s summer solstice event was held on. The property was recently donated by the late Dr. Joseph Hollowell Jr. The 77-year-old Lawrence resident died June 12 of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
His daughter, Kyra Hollowell Morris, of South Carolina, participated in both sessions. In May, she visited her father and they talked about her return visit.
“I thought what a wonderful time to come back out and spend with my father. Little did I know that he would pass away last Saturday,” she said, teary-eyed. “Being here on the land is a different experience with him now.”
Three years ago, Hollowell Morris said her father planted the land into natural prairie grass. He loved the land and being outdoors.
“It’s a fulfillment of his dream,” she said of preserving the land.
Jason Fizell, executive director of the Kansas Land Trust, said it was the first time the organization had such an event. It typically has walks and community suppers.
“We thought doing yoga and Tai Chi on the solstice was a unique way of doing what we thought folks would enjoy,” he said.
“So often Kansans, and even myself, see the beauty of the land by driving through it or driving by it, and this is a chance to get out and actually touch it. There’s the bugs and the heat and the sun, but that’s part of the enjoyment too.”
Kansas residents engage in a Monday morning summer solstice yoga class hosted by the Kansas Land Trust on preserved land near Clinton Lake. There were about 20 participants who were mostly from the Lawrence community, but some were from Manhattan, Topeka and Olathe. by Mike Yoder
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